Electric connectors, such as modular plugs, are typically used to transmit digital signals in telephonic and other data communication systems where high performance through reduced electromagnetic interference between conductors (i.e., crosstalk) is desirable and necessary. Modular plugs, one type of electric connectors, are typically terminated by technicians in the field, or prepared in assembly lines of a factory. In certain examples, a cable that is to be terminated in the modular plug includes insulated, multi-colored wires wrapped by an insulating cable jacket. The cable typically includes eight wires that are made into a bundle of four twisted pairs. The bundle may optionally include a drain wire or surrounding shield for use in a shielded plug.
To prepare the cable for termination in the plug, the cable jacket is first peeled back to expose the insulated pairs. After that, with the several insulated wires exposed, the wires can be untwisted and arranged in the desired order, generally in a side-by-side fashion. The wires can then be individually inserted into a plug housing and terminated by an insulation piercing blade. The wires can be misaligned and unsecured within the plug housing because the wires need to be independently engaged into the plug housing.
Some modular plugs employ a load bar or wire holder configured to hold the wires in an array and be inserted into the housing. The wire holder allows the wires to be presented in alignment below insulation piercing contacts when the wire holder is placed into the housing. The wire holder can define a plurality of wire support passages to arrange the wires in a side-by-side manner thereon and provide a lateral alignment of the wires below the insulation piercing contacts when the wire holder is received into the housing. The wire support passages of the wire holder operate to centralize the wires with the insulation piercing contacts so that the insulation piercing contacts properly pierce the wires to make contact with the conductors within the wires. However, the wire support passages are dimensioned to fit wires of a particular size, and thus cannot function to centralize and align wires of different sizes with the insulation piercing contacts.